Here's the presentation and video from last night's Union Station Master Plan community workshop

Couldn’t attend last night’s community workshop for the Union Station Master Plan? Above is the presentation given at the meeting and here is a 27-minute video that includes the presentation and commentary from Master Plan staff.

So what do you think of the emerging plan? Any alternative or particular slide that you like or have strong opinions about? Comment please.

It costs less almost $1000 but can be a great help to cyclists at union station. This is a small investment compared with most of metro’s projects. One of these was recently put in at PCC. It is great because people can easily go and get air and make adjustments to their bike to fix small problems that otherwise might leave them walking home. Also the customer service at gateway center should carry inner tubes in the most common sizes. The service station should be put in an area that is locked after hours and were security guards can keep an eye on it so that nobody breaks the pump or tries to steal the tools.

I can’t believe this was done by a professional design firm. I get that this is a high-level and long-range plan, but the plan exhibits very little creativity and seem to have been created as though the site were in a complete vacuum. It’s like the creators took Urban Design 101 and decided that was that – “Let’s plop down the pieces we learned about that we’re good! Park/plaza – check, retail/restaurant – check, circulation diagram – check, connectivity diagram – check.”

To be truly useful, this plan needs much stronger fundamental planning actions, not the boilerplate interventions currently shown. The plan needs to reference how people currently use the space and reflect a gradient of change to how they will use the space in the future. The elements need to make sense and be useful along the entirety of the pathway; not the “build it and they will come” mentality exhibited in this plan.

For instance, the plan v.2 must consider the practical priorities and constraints of bus users – speed and efficiency. A two story-bus terminal works toward neither of those goals as it creates an inflexible, operationally and logistically difficult legacy of a structure. Not to mention the REDUCTION in on-site housing?? The housing on-site is one of the greatest assets of the current site, so perhaps consider integrating with and augmenting the existing assets rather than bulldozing in the name of “planning”. There are so many more elements to this on which this plan misses the mark.

Overall, this plan strikes me as a minimal-effort, boilerplate, site plan that does not take into account realistically how the site will be used and what type of functionality is needed, but instead elaborates on what it would be like if we were to just create a whole new place from scratch. If the aim is to plop down some new development complete with Jamba Juice, Wetzel’s, a Yard House, and a Coldstone’s then awesome; if the goal is to guide the site development into an organic, unique, and recognizable neighborhood or district, then the designers need to take another look.

I think these are great options. I like the open and spacious concourses, although it is hard to see just how good the new E/W concourse will be, as the watercolor on pg 50 is somewhat abstract.

On an architectural note, I suggest a “transition zone” from the darker Mission-style old LAUS to the presumably modern style to mesh the different styles. There may be visual cues from the old station that could be carried into the new area.

Also, a public viewing spot with a panoramic view towards downtown would be a hit with visitors.

I’m in JAPAN now train stations are a whole other deal here they have shops, cafes, restaurants, lounges, easy access to local transportation including JR Shinkansen bullet trains, JR Local, Express and Rapid Lines and Fukuoka Subway lines, buses, taxis and anything else you can think!! of I love those models of Union Station I think theres definitely potential in improving LA Union Station when the California High Speed Rail Train comes through in 2020 connecting LA and SF Bay Area in 2 hours and 30mins…

I wish that LA Union Station was newer, more modern and offered more amenities such as Shops, Restaurants, Cafes, lounges, showers, net cafes, had High- Speed Trains, better Amtrak National Rail Service, Metrolink Commuter trains and easy connections to Local transportation whish include MTA LA Metro Red and Purple Line Subway, Gold Line Light Rail and Metro Buses if there was a direct Rapid Rail connection between the Expo Line from Santa Monica, Culver City, LAX Airport and Union Station that would be great the 733 Metro “Rapid” bus takes way too long… Train stations are so clean and offer so much here in Japan… I see a better Union Station in LA’s future by 2020 Together we can make this a Reality!!

I’m really liking the East/West Layout, with bus depot adjacent to rail and possible future HSR on top of existing tracks. Everything connects better than if you put the bus depot where Mosaic apartments are. You have to make it easy for people otherwise they start complaining and won’t take public transportation.

I think you meant you liked the north/south concourse because that puts the bus terminals on the Moziac apartments and it is the ONLY ONE of the 4 drafts that would place High Speed Rail over the current tracks.